As gasoline prices began to increase as well as the cost of materials to manufacture automobiles, the amount of metal used in such manufacture was reduced. This was accomplished in two parallel efforts. The first by replacing metal components with lighter weight and less expensive plastic ones and secondly by using ever thinner metal sheeting.
Although this allowed the manufacturers to produce lighter and cheaper cars, the thin metal components required reinforcing to prevent inadvertent denting or collapse of the component.
Therefore, what is needed in this art is a lightweight, durable, nonbrittle reinforcement which is easy to use.